1. Field of the Invention
A hand operable tool having a "supplier" like operation characterized by two handles movable between an open and closed position to concurrently open and close respectively two arms of a head portion for the clamping together of two ends about and in attachment with a tube coupler element thereby reducing the inefficiency of accomplishing assembly and disassembly of such tube fittings and coupler elements by hand or through the use of non-specialized tooling.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hand tools which may broadly be referred to as crimping tools are of course widely known in the prior art and have been in use in industries for many years. The development of such tools has reached a point where specialized tooling for a variety of specific purposes is quite common. Accordingly, while many of the generally referred to crimping tools operate similar to conventional pliers in that they incorporate spaced apart handles pivotally interconnected to open and close arms of a gripping head, the structural configuration and components associated with the "specialized" tools of modern day society differ effectively from commonly known pliers.
The following U.S. patents are representative of various types of hand tools of the type referred to above which are modified structurally to accomplish a specific performance in a manner which is generally more efficient than if conventional pliers or like non-specialized tools were utilized. Such patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,212,317; 1,346,306; 1,085,461; and 970,500.
One area of commerce in need of a specialized tool is equipment and facilities relating directly to lawn irrigation and use with sprinkler systems wherein such sprinkler systems include flexible material conduit or tubing interconnected at correspondingly positioned ends to one another through metal or plastic material tee couplers or like elements and further wherein such tubing is used to interconnect component parts of pressure regulated electric and/or hydraulic valve parts.
Normally, such tubing incorporates retainer elements affixed to a free end of each tubing. The retainer element is an annular member overlying the free end but allowing access to the interior of the tube or conduit through the free end. The retainer serves to clamp the free end of the tube between it and a nozzle of the coupler. The aforementioned metal or plastic material coupler includes outwardly projecting nozzles designed to fit securely within the free end of the tubing through the retainer. The fit between the free end of the tubing and the coupler elements are maintained by friction. However they are sufficiently secured to render interconnection of the free ends of tubing and the coupler element, as well as removable therefrom, extremely difficult when attempting such assembly or disassembly by hand or when utilizing non-specialized tooling. This difficulty in turn lead to extensive time taken up in the assembly and disassembly of such tube fittings and therefore of course adds to the overall cost of installation of such irrigation systems.
There is therefore a need in the lawn irrigation industry for a specialized tool capable of increasing the efficiency of attaching tube fittings, of the type set forth above, to one another in a minimal amount of time and through the exertion of a minimal amount of effort.